Daily Archives: November 13, 2009

Rocky Mountain Family Council Blog: “I happened to believe that teaching students the Bible in public schools is a good idea. We are making this debate too complicated. Now I know this debate can lead to great passion, but let’s use a little common sense. Here’s why . . . ”

California Family Council: “A joint study by the LA Times and the University of Southern California claims that although a slim majority of 51% of Californians approve of homosexual marriage, a strong 60% of those polled oppose a ballot measure on marriage returning next year.”

ADF attorney Jordan Lorence writing at the ADF Center for Academic Freedom’s Academic Freedom File blog: “Observers of the United States Supreme Court are noting the unusually-long scrutiny the justices are giving to Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, the case where the University of California-Hastings (in San Francisco) denied permission to the Christian Legal Society to meet on campus because it ran afoul of its nondiscrimination policy, as ADF has seen on other university campuses.”

OneNewsNow: “A student council president under fire at Sacramento City College now has legal representation . . . ‘He’s been retaliated against by these school administrators who called into question his faith,” says [David] Hacker. The attorney explains that the administrators ‘have removed [Macias] from student government trips that the group was going [on] . . .’”

ACLJ: “The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) – dedicated to the defense of constitutional liberties secured by law – today filed an amicus brief on behalf of 44 members of Congress asking a federal court to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the engravings of the national motto and Pledge of Allegiance at the Capitol Visitor Center in Washington, D.C. . . . ”

ABA Journal: “Does the cost of going to law school pay off for graduates? The answer to that question is no, for many ‘typical’ students, according to a law professor at Vanderbilt University.”

“State Sen. Paul Sarlo says he will not bring up the bill in the Judiciary Committee he chairs unless there are enough votes to pass it along to the whole Senate.”

Reuters: “An Argentine judge has granted a homosexual couple permission to get married, setting a precedent that could pave the way for the Catholic country to become the first in Latin America to allow same-sex marriage.”

Baptist Press: “California’s stem cell program has awarded $230 million primarily to non-embryonic research, in the process implicitly admitting embryonic experiments are much further from producing therapies in human beings.”

ExodusInternational: “Dr. David Manning recently had a video of a sermon he preached on homosexuality pulled off of YouTube. According to Manning*, YouTube cited the recently signed Hate Crimes legislation as their reason for pulling the sermon; they had always allowed his previous sermons. I did not see the pastor’s original sermon; however his video explaining his outrage at the situation was very strongly worded and full of emotion.”

Detroit Free Press: “A lack of a quorum at a Detroit City Council meeting this morning may derail a scheduled vote next week on a licensing ordinance to govern strip clubs in the city . . . The council is considering several changes to the way the clubs do business, including banning the sale and consumption of alcohol and requiring strippers to wear pasties and keep at least 6 feet from patrons. The council is to also consider a zoning ordinance . . . ”

Boston Globe (AP): “But after a closed-door meeting with a gay rights group, Carcieri told reporters Thursday he would consider creating a domestic partnership system similar to one approved this month by voters in Washington state.”

LifeSiteNews: “With the Christmas season fast approaching, and the commercial machine gearing up as usual, the annual ‘war on Christmas’ has started, with numerous stores refusing to recognize the very celebration by which they profit. In response, Christian groups are again calling for a boycott of such stores who censor references to Christmas in their Christmas promotions.”

UKPA: “Ministers have given in to demands by religious groups to allow faith schools to appoint teachers in line with the school’s beliefs, the National Secular Society (NSS) claimed.”

Inside Higher Ed: “[At] his Conservative Librarian blog, [Bert Chapman] argues that gay people are an economic drain . . . as word of the blog spread at Purdue, the campus has seen petitions and protests, with many calling for Chapman (who has tenure) to be fired . . . The university has rejected calls to fire Chapman.”

C-FAM: “Activist organization Amnesty International is putting its weight behind an Australian bill seeking to legalize ‘same-sex marriage’ in that country, claiming that ‘internationally recognized’ non-discrimination norms dictate such a result.”

Andrew C. McCarthy writing at National Review Online: “. . . the FBI and the Justice Department have convinced themselves that the Constitution really is a suicide pact — that a mainstream construction of Islam, calling for our demise as a free people, is somehow insulated from inquiry because we don’t want to confront the stubborn fact that Islamist terror is instigated by Islamic doctrine.”

CourierMail.com.au: “THE divisive issue of gay parenting is set to split State Parliament after the Opposition introduced a Bill to ban same-sex couples and single mothers from accessing surrogacy.”

San Francisco Chronicle: “The San Francisco Presbytery agreed late Tuesday to ordain the first openly homosexual minister in the denomination.”

College agrees that recall election violated state law, but student government seeking to impeach him anyway

The Hill: “Democratic leaders plan to repeal the military’s ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy in next year’s defense authorization bill.”

“Union membership has stayed high in one sector of the economy: the government. Twenty-three percent of public-sector workers belonged to unions in 1974, and 37 percent did in 2008.”

Catholic Culture: “A Chinese ‘underground’ bishop who caused consternation among his people when he joined the government-backed Patriotic Association has told the AsiaNews service that he took the step for the sake of his flock.”

“At the center of this case is a little rectangular box, about six inches tall, one inch wide, and one inch deep, which houses a small scroll of parchment inscribed with passages from the Torah, the holiest of texts in Judaism.1 mezuzot or mezuzoh).”

Citizen Link: “Maryland’s state university regents voted Wednesday to defy a legislative order to regulate porn on campus, claiming it would be impossible to enforce.”

David French, Director of the ADF Center for Academic Freedom, appeared on the Michael Medved Show to discuss this: College launches attack campaign on student body president over pro-life group’s display.

The MP3 runs about 33 minutes.

BBC: “The Greek Orthodox Church is urging Christians across Europe to unite in an appeal against a ban on crucifixes in classrooms in Italy.”

Chicago Tonight: “Houses of worship and private schools have been receiving state tax dollars, and this has reignited the church-state debate. We talk with a state representative who has helped send money to a Jesuit-run high school and an ACLU member with concerns about the practice.”

Belfast Telegraph: “David Quinn — a commentator on religious and social affairs in the Republic — asks if Europe becoming a cold house for Christians.”

BBC News: “Ministers have admitted defeat in their efforts to remove a ‘free speech’ defence from new laws against inciting homophobic hatred. MPs have voted four times to scrap it but it has been repeatedly overturned in the Lords, who again last night voted by 179 to 135 to keep it.”

LifeNews: “A pro-life legal group has asked the U.S. military to charge Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan with the unlawful killing of an unborn child in the shooting that recently took place at the Fort Hood military base . . . ‘All murder victims–born and pre-born–deserve equal justice,’ ADF senior legal counsel Steven Aden told LifeNews.com on Thursday. ‘Women who volunteer to protect our country deserve to know that the government will enforce the laws that protect their children.’”

ABC News: “By the end of senior year, the average college student has had 6.9 hookups, mostly after a ‘good bit of drinking,’ according to a survey of 4,000 students at five universities by Stanford University sociology professor Paula England.”

SCOTUS Blog reports on the upcoming conference at George Washington Law School.

Religion Clause Blog: “The Palmetto Scoop yesterday reported that South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster who is running in the Republican primary in June 2010 to become the state’s next governor has released a web video strongly supporting the right of city councils to open their meetings with sectarian prayer.”

Religion Clause Blog: “World Bulletin reports today that ‘Rebirth and Union,’ Spain’s first Islamic political party, is planning to run candidates in 2011 local elections.”

Religion Clause Blog: “Yesterday in New York, federal prosecutors filed a civil complaint against the Alavi Foundation seeking forfeiture of over $500 million in assets including not only bank accounts and an office tower in New York, but also Islamic centers housing mosques and schools in New York City; Rockville, Maryland; Carmichael, California; and Houston, Texas.”

David Kupelian writes at WorldNetDaily: “Everyone attributes it to ‘political correctness,’ but I think it’s time to move beyond that shallow, passé, near-meaningless phrase. Do we dare admit what is really at play here? The truth is actually very simple. We are afraid of Islam. We are intimidated by Islam. And because we are afraid of and intimidated by Islam, Islam is changing us – in two distinct and profound ways.”

Wall Street Journal: “The last thing Democrats need right now is a fight over health care with a powerful outside group. Yet that’s exactly what may be taking shape with the nation’s Catholic bishops — a group that ought to be an ally in the struggle to pass health-care reform. WSJ’s Jerry Seib explains.”

Brietta Clark and Karl Manheim are professors of law at Loyola Law School, Los Angeles write in the San Francisco Chronicle: “The Stupak Amendment is obviously designed to discourage even medically necessary abortions. Many women have medical conditions that are exacerbated by pregnancy, but by the time they become life-threatening, it is too late for a safe abortion. The Stupak Amendment would preclude women from getting abortions in these and other cases. This is extraordinarily bad health policy, but is it unconstitutional?”

Springfield News Sun: “Clark County is working to repair the Ten Commandments monument from the courthouse lawn that was cracked by a hit-and-run driver a few weeks ago . . . A national organization, the Alliance Defense Fund, has volunteered to cover any litigation from putting the monument back, should it occur.”

Daily Vanguard: “The Students Alliance and The Liberty are seeking equal rights to speak on campus according to their attorney, Heather Gebelin Hacker of the Alliance Defense Fund . . . ‘The defendants have been served and their answer to the complaint is due on Nov. 30,’ said Katie Blechacz, media relations manager of the Alliance Defense Fund.”

Catholic News Agency: “[Erik] Stanley charged that groups that want to ‘redefine’ marriage are ‘intentionally threatening’ churches’ tax-exempt status to promote ‘fear, intimidation and disinformation to silence their voice . . . ADF will stand with these churches to defend their right to free speech and religious expression against these baseless scare tactics,’ he stated.”

CitizenLink: “Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), said his group is offering free legal assistance to any church that becomes a target of the IRS. ‘Churches and pastors have a right to support or oppose legislative efforts directly,’ he said, ‘as long it constitutes an insubstantial part of what they do overall.’”

WorldNetDaily: “Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund, said pastors and churches have a right to discuss biblical truths from the pulpit without fear of being punished for their religious beliefs. ‘They can encourage their congregations to take a stand for marriage and can directly support legislative issues like Question 1 without running afoul of IRS rules,’ Stanley said. ‘Groups that want to redefine marriage are intentionally threatening the tax-exempt status of churches through fear, intimidation, and disinformation to silence their voice.’”

“. . . There is no requirement for government assistance in support of abortion, while there is no constitutional ban on government assistance to religious groups. Abortion advocates have it completely backwards . . . ”

Personhood USA: “Planned Parenthood and the ACLU have filed a lawsuit against the sponsors of a Nevada ballot initiative defining the term ‘person’.”

Bloomberg: “The White House wants an increase of at least $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion, according to a person familiar with the deliberations between lawmakers and the administration. Record budget deficits are pushing the national debt closer to the $12.1 trillion statutory limit.”

“. . . even as congressional Republicans insist that the health care overhaul does not cover abortions, the national party’s own health plan covers elective procedures . . . ”

Official Google Blog: “When you’re searching on Google, we think you should have the choice to keep adult content out of your search results . . . Today we’re launching a feature that lets you lock your SafeSearch setting to the Strict level of filtering.”

Patrick J. Deneen, Associate Professor of Government at Georgetown University, discusses the Washington Post article, “Catholic Church gives D.C. ultimatum“: “I think the basic premise of the Post’s story requires clarification. The premise of today’s story was that the Catholic Church was threatening to cease to provide charitable services if the law legalizing gay marriage is passed. In point of fact, it is the DC government that would cease to license or contract with the Church unless the Church conformed to a definition of marriage that violates its faith tradition. Without a set of broader legal exemptions allowing for the Church to remain faithful to its definition of marriage, it will cease to be permitted by the City to provide the contracted and licensed services that it has for well over a century. The Church’s fundamental desire in this controversy is to continue its desire and freedom to serve.”

The Institute for Marriage and Public Policy October 2009 Marriage Law Digest is now available online.

Dakota Voice: “Socialists in congress are looking to bring the hammer down on Catholics who dared advocate their values in the public square . . . Rep. Lynn Woolsey . . . said that in light of heavy pressure from USCCB against federal funding for abortion, the Internal Revenue Service should investigate whether the organization exceeded the limitations of its tax-exempt status . . . On a similar note, the Alliance Defense Fund is offering free legal assistance to churches that are harassed by a homosexual activist group, ‘Maine Marriage Equality.’”

Killing of ‘Baby Velez’ is violation of Uniform Code of Military Justice

Shannon Gilreath, Not a Moral Issue: Same-Sex Marriage and Religious Liberty (November 11, 2009). Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1504170

“I argue that Professors Wilson and Laycock’s nearly exclusive focus on individual rights analysis in their approach to the same-sex marriage question fails to consider seriously the group-based equality issues at stake. I argue that, contrary to Professors Wilson and Laycock’s assertions, one cannot easily distinguish between religious objections to interracial marriage, as well as religious justification for other forms of inequality, and religious objections to same-sex marriage. I argue that we must analyze the claims of Gays and Lesbians for civil marriage under a substantive equality paradigm, and that the group-based equality interests of Gays and Lesbians should not be subordinated to the individual desires of religious objectors through resort to the descriptive moral counterbalancing inherent in typical, liberal individual rights analysis.”

Farrah Ahmed, Personal Autonomy and the Option of Religious Law (September 12, 2009). International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family, Forthcoming. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1504788

“Liberal states, including the United Kingdom and Canada, increasingly face calls from religious groups to reform family law in order to accommodate religious norms. The conclusions of this paper contribute to the broader question of whether these states should do so, as well as the question of what form any accommodation should take.”